The rough n' rowdy world of "rock, pop n' roll" can seem a scary place for the "fairer sex", and it is with the "little ladies" in mind that we present this latest offering in our popular series of long-playing record albums tailored to the delicate tastes of "the gals" [seen yesterday, below left - Ed.] - bless 'em!
But relax, girls! There's nothing to make you uncomfortable in this swell disc! It's the ideal accompaniment to pyjama sleepovers, sorority house hayrides, or just listening alone in your bedroom, dreaming of that "special fellow"!
Other swell albums in this chromosome-specific series include scented nosegays of melody from Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and King Crimson - ask your dealer, or beat this here link in the chest with your tiny fists!
Y'know, fellows, in *cough* CURATING this swell collection I listened anew to the Undies' albums, and I axed the question I'd axed on first hearing them, these many decades past, to whit; "what is this shit?" What a fucking horrible band. If Lou Reed wasn't bad enough in himself (which he was), we got John Cale doing interminable spoken word shit and making the whole deal even worse by scraping a viola, and some of the worst drumming ever captured on tape. And Nico. Jesus fucking christ, what a shitstorm of ineptitude posing as attitude. Only Doug Yule doesn't stink. Fight me.
ReplyDeleteI worked with Doug's daughter Jennifer back in the late '90s. Nice young woman, huge Bowie fan. I was able to give her a tape where Bowie told a story about his first visit to New York where he saw the Velvets and "met Lou Reed"....only to find out later he'd met Doug Yule. At the time, her dad was making a living doing woodwork, installing cabinets.
DeleteThe Doug Yule Story right here!
Deletehttps://falsememoryfoam.blogspot.com/2020/05/from-ny-loft-to-hayloft-country-rock.html
March 1968 Reading Uni, Andy Mackay plays the first album to a number of interested bystanders. None of whom think much of it.
Delete"Here she Goes Again " is a rip of "Hitch Hike", not Marvin's version, the Stones'. Ho hum.
The next two, mind, very good indeed.
When I see an article mentioning Nico, I can't help but think of an incident at a concert in Reims in 1974.
DeleteShort version: a promoter who had no clue what he was doing set up a concert where Nico opened for Tangerine Dream at Notre Dame de Reims cathedral, convincing the Church authorities that Nico and Tangerine Dream were some form of neo-classical musicians.
It was an even worse disaster than you might have expected. The building has insane echo (they counted 10 reverberations of a single bass note played as a sound test), the show was ridiculously overbooked (over 6000 people in a space meant for around 2000), and there was no security... and no restroom accomodations.
Everyone in charge at the cathedral got sacked, and Tangerine Dream was officially excommunicated by the Catholic church.
The almost full story, from the autobiography of Edgar Froese:
https://electronicsound.co.uk/long-reads/tangerine-dream-the-reims-cathedral-disaster/
And the amusing and happy ending that wasn't included in the version of the story linked above: after the "blasphemous" concert was covered extensively in European news broadcasts and journals, Tangerine Dream started receiving requests to come play at Protestant cathedrals all over the continent, including 12 invitations to play at Anglican Church sites.
Amazing story. Thanks for taking the time to tell it. For some reason, I had to approve your comment before it showed here; usually they all get through directly.
DeleteCall it gestalt.--Bill (The OTHER Bill)
ReplyDeleteGestalt, schmestalt. Any whole unit, holistically, is greater than the sum of its parts (cf Buddha's parable of the cart, or mine of the '59 Edsel).
DeleteThe VU are a New York thing. No one would imagine that you'd understand.
DeleteNo one would be right in their imagining, then, which is good.
DeleteI wasn't aware of The Velvet Underground, until the summer of 1968. I was back in Brooklyn during summer break from Caltech, and hanging out with my best friend from high school: Denise "The Grease". In the basement of Denise's parent's house, we washed down "Goofballs" (a mix of two Nembutal and two Dexedrine) with Southern Comfort and smoked cigarettes. When the goofballs kicked in, Dense put on "White Light / White Heat" followed by "The Velvet Underground & Nico". I've been a fan ever since.
ReplyDeleteNew flash, girls like The Velvet Underground. What makes you think they don't?
I don't. Neither do I think they don't like any of the other rock groups featured in this stoopid series of laff pieces. Could you have missed the point?
DeletePaul Newman explains "Goofballs"
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03PPRbBrYKI&t=38s&ab_channel=PeriscopeFilm
Girls don't like King Crimson.
DeleteThe grrrls I hang with don't like Little Feat but we love the Underground. Mo is one of our dearest. If ya wanna trash Sterling, that's another thing
DeleteEven King Crimson don't like King Crimson.
DeleteOne of Babs' early modeling calls was for Droste - go here for the skinny!
Deletehttps://uwaterloo.ca/science/events/bridges-lecture-recursion-loops-make-world-go-round
Nice tin, but the lecture sounds like it was way over my head, so all I have to say is phwoar!
DeleteI'm originally from NW PA. Saw the Velvets in Cleveland more times than I can count (especially since I lost my one thumb). Whatever is said here, they were fantastic live & "of the Moment".
ReplyDeleteNot to be contrarian, but Maureen Tucker is incredible. She is dumped into the same pile as Meg White by certain critic-types, but without eiter of those two, well neither the Undies or the Stripies woulda been nearly what the were/are.
Helen Wiggin, anyone?
Deletebut Alister MacLeish? & when it all 1st happened it was specifically to be a soundtrack for events -with dancing & or at art installations or to just be around if needed & when the movie with her happened it just built the whole thing as an after thought & one daya bit before it all everyone was taking about that poem THAT Alister wrote ........hows it go oh yea "...I wish that I was born a thousand years ago
DeleteI wish that I'd sail the darkened seas
On a great big clipper ship
Going from this land here to that
On a sailor's suit and cap.............that Louie never wrote like that-but then you had to really be there
Mom? Is this you?
Delete.nwah
Deletenor not or
ReplyDeleteI'm having this comment reproduced on an upcoming range of FMF© merch!
DeleteI'll take the cropped ladies tee in black, please.
DeleteYou want the fluffy mules? We got them on offer right now.
DeleteSure, why not.
DeleteDo you have anything I can wear to all tomorrow's parties?
The Shriner's fez is always a conversation starter.
DeleteMy brother has my father's fez.
DeleteMy brother joined the ancient order but quit. He once told me:
"I joined the masons hoping there would be some evil conspiracy to help with, because I like evil conspiracies. Much to my dismay, there was not a drop of goat's blood and I did not even give my soul away. All I did was pay dues, so the Shriners can help sick and crippled children for free. Those bastards. WHERE'S THE WORLD DOMINATION!?!?!?"
Your brother sounds like an our-type guy.
DeleteI do genuinely think this band is awful, I can't help it, and please don't think harshly of me. I enjoy and appreciate all the support for the band in these comments.
ReplyDeleteThe comments on this-a-here blog are worth the price of admission. Just sayin'...
DeleteYes, it seems to attract a uniquely frisky passel o' lousy bums wit' contentious opinions. We've lost a few Four Or Five Guys© over the years, but picked up others. I like to think the enlightened policy of publishing pitchers of babes in bikinis is largely responsible for the lofty intellectual tone of the comments.
DeleteI love the Velvet Underground, and have pretty much everything Lou ever touched, including that Nelson Slater LP. I also have everything by the Monkees. And Desmond Dekker, and Chuck Berry. It's all good.
DeleteLinquage du jour o' th' day:
ReplyDeletehttps://workupload.com/file/rfXDBbaTrF6
Interesting selection of tunes.
DeleteA junkie I once knew “dated” Nico. As far as I could see, this involved being the first to try any new batch of smack. As long as he didn’t promptly drop dead, Nico and the rest of her gang then shot up. However, I did spend a charming evening in her company, in an Irish pub in west London, buying her sherry while she told me about being in Spain with her mother and exchanged banter with the Irish navvies playing pool next to where we were propping up the bar.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I do prefer women drummers, so Mo Tucker is tops, in my book.
The 3rd and 4th VU albums are the best IMO, so Doug Yule gets my vote. I was so disappointed when I eventually bought White Light, White Heat about 30 years ago, it sounded so bad, I was obviously on the wrong drugs!
ReplyDeletei would gladly trade any "rock" music ever created in 1960s san francisco for even the most unlistenable (to you) sewer rat farts expelled in new york at that time.
ReplyDeletenone of those farts are hopelessly dated. they still smell fresh.
Attaboy!
Deletehttps://mega.nz/file/oOd0FICL#F_MMtkiae3SS28E_rI2rAENeUzfn4F8K-YQTbmpUzPY
ReplyDeleteWhat does this link to?
Peel slowly and see...
Thanks, Babs, my copy of that is long gone, sadly. I recently was re-checking out the VU's first album, & it's good for me. I like the rawness, & note how many times I've heard better bands cover the songs. The production is of course, severely lacking, but still better than an audience recording. I remastered it, & that helped a lot. An interesting discourse. Thanks, F.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Konrad.
DeleteAh, Farq, a "miss"ed (see what I did there?) opportunity. Pismo Beach may be famous as the whelp-place of the VU, in your telling; thus your, um, curated album shoulda been called Pismo Clams, as the latter is what Pismo Beach really got famous for. Now, I know it doesn't roll off the tongue like a title that actually somewhat matches an actual VU album, but go on....break some rules.
ReplyDeleteC in California
Does "Pismo Clams" mean what I think it means?
DeleteKnowing the way your mind works, no.
DeleteYou can reallt see Pismo clams on Pismo Beach, unless of course you make a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
I think Pismo Clams means exactly what I think it means. And I'm sure they're all over Pismo Beach.
DeleteHere's resentful, bitter, left-out John Cale (cut him some slack - he's from Wales, living in New York, and has never seen the sun): "We hated the summer of love with a vengeance. Apart from all the flower children and everything else, it was just silly. Woodstock, we were happy they ended up in the mud. Serves them right."
ReplyDelete🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼 That's groovy, John! It's your trip, baby! We love you! 🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼